Faculty Retreat - Learning about Service

Retreat in Chinauta, Colombia
 This year, the whole faculty (including maintenance, cleaning, office, and technology staff) spent a weekend away to fellowship and grow closer as a team.  Our speaker, Stan Owens-Hughes, talked to use about our theme this school year of SERVICE.  He has been a missionary to the indigenous tribes of Colombia for the past 25 years.  What I loved is our devotional time where we just mediated on a passage of scripture and then we came together with our small groups to talk about how the Lord had spoken to us.  Here are a few of my take-aways and applications for serving 3rd Grade!


1. Jesus served Judas even when he knew he was going to betray him - John 13
"Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end...." v.1
"the devil had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus.  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist..." v. 2-4
"When he finished washing THEIR feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place." v.12

Judas was part of the group that has his feet washed by Christ.  This amazes me.  Christ Jesus, already knowing that Judas would betray him in the worst possible way, served Judas anyways.  His example shows that service should not be based on whether the person deserves it or not.  Sometimes we are called to serve someone who is against us, who betrays us. 





2. Jesus  shows us true motivation for our service. - Matthew 20:1-28
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard,  HE AGREED TO PAY THEM A DENARIUS for the day and sent them into his vineyard." v. 1-2

"The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.  So, when those came who were hired first, THEY EXPECTED TO RECEIVE MORE.  But each one of them also received a denarius.  WHEN THEY RECEIVED IT, they began to GRUMBLE against the landowner." v.9-11
He answered one of them, "Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?  Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money?  Or are you ENVIOUS BECAUSE I AM GENEROUS?"  v. 13, 15



Quotes from my devotional time:
Oh Jesus, to be the kind of servant that you were!  Thank for your example, that I might at least serve ONCE in my whole life as you have served.  Dear Lord, I know there are so many selfish motivations to serve, so many missed opportunities to help someone.  Being aware of wrong motivations will help me seek the right ones.

Help me to serve you, serve my students, with my WHOLE heart (whether they deserve it or not, whether it's noticed or not, whether I am tired or energized...)

You have to know who you are in Christ and where your eternal life is headed.  You are completely special to God, but it is nothing about you that makes you more important than others.  He loves us all!

Each group had to come up with a song about service.  It was so much fun to see the Lord work in my group and that the words perfectly blended together all of our thoughts.  Here is our song...


"He Has Served Us" (to the tune of "We Will Rock You")

He has, He has served Us!  (2x)

Back in the day, Jesus walked on the earth
He washed disciples feet and he humbly served
He healed the sick
Made the blind to see
He died on the cross to set the captives free

He has, He has served Us!  (2x)

You need a friend, I will walk with you.
You need a meal, I will cook that, too!
Jesus is my Lord
And he served me
Now I will go and be his hands and feet.

We will, We will serve you! (2X)

Prayers and Praises:

Please continue to pray for the Farmer's strike and for President Santos.  They are still in negotiations.   Roads are clear to travel on - with police officers asking you to give a thumbs up if your travel is going ok :-)

 Praise for a disciple relationship that is starting!  I will be encouraging, praying, and meeting with a 10th grader named Maria Alejandra.  Please pray for our relationship as I get to know her :-0  Can't wait to see how God will bless this relationship!  We are meeting once a week during lunch on Thursdays - if you would like to pray specifically for us at that time.

Continued prayers for patience and grace with my students.


Because they haven't heard,
Carrie

Welcoming 3rd Grade and Learning About Grace

Welcome 3rd Grade!
I came back to a re-painted classroom all ready for me to decorate.  It was a little different than what I had expected, so it took me a little while to decide how I wanted to set it up.  This is always a fun part of being a teacher.  Erika, my aide, and Kelli (2nd Grade Teacher) laughed at me as I sat there thinking and just looking at my room :-)  Well, here is finished result.  God is gracious and the new set-up seems to be working well.  We have a great BIG Bible poster to use this year, also!

Here is our first class picture.  It's wonderful that I already know some of these kids from last year, which makes learning names easier.  They are a different bunch than last year, but I love them all the same.  They have different needs and personalities, of which I am learning how to best be their teacher.  This can be humbling at times, especially when I thought my second year might be a little easier.  It some ways it is, but I still have a lot to learn :-)

Give Them Grace  - The theme of what God is teaching me this year is grace.  I am daily learning about how this looks in my classroom.  My heart's desire is for my students to experience God in a way they never have before.  As my weaknesses are being laid before me and my own abilities to accomplish this ministry are being challenged, I am humbled at how much I fall short on my own - yet I continue to depend on my own strength despite this knowledge!  What a freeing thought and growing process to learn daily dependence on God and his grace that is so abundantly given to us.  I am reading a book called Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick.  One paragraph that really spoke to me on how I discipline my students this year was this:

"Give your children grace today by speaking of sin and mercy.  Tell them that they can relax into God's loving embrace and stop thinking that they have to perform in order to get their welcoming Father to love them.  Tell them that they can have hope that even though they really struggle, they are the very sort of person Jesus loved being around.  Dazzle them with his love."

When I become discouraged, I have found comfort in these words:

"The disciples couldn't hinder the children from coming to him even though they tried.  When God calls our children to come to him, even if we haven't gotten it all right, even if we've trained little Pharisees or have a house full of prodigals, nothing is impossible for him.  He can break through all our flawed methods and redeem all our frail errors.  The world tells us that our children's success depends upon our success.  The world knows nothing of God's ability to use our failures as means to bless.  "What is impossible with men is possible with God" Luke 18:27"

Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick

My former students still stick around and say hi!

Trip to Usaquen with the Spanish Teachers - always a fun time!

We found Gelato - yum!!!!!

Service Theme - Our school theme this year is service.  This theme will be integrated into many things we do all school year, including our social service outreach we do in 3rd Grade. In Chapel this week, we had the students draw a picture of God.  Then, we asked who drew God with hands, feet, and a mouth?  This lead to a teaching on how we are the hands, feet, and mouth of God.  As his children, he has created us to go, love, and serve others with our hands and feet.  We are the mouths who bring the Good News of Jesus to those who have not heard.  Below are a few drawings from my 3rd Graders of what God would look like.  Pretty cute! (and yes, that is the earth as a tiny ball next to God, along with my student sitting at God's feet)

 

Prayers/Praises:
God's grace to be everywhere around our classroom.  I want my students to know and feel his grace in a way that they never have before.

Safety in Colombia - There are farmers who are striking and causing roads and buses to be closed down.  They also don't want people passing through their land during the strike - which has caused violence to occur.  Please pray for the safety for everyone here and that the farmers would work with the government quickly to resolve their issues.  Also, there may be a shortage of some produce during this time as well. Here is a link if you want to read more about it -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23850074.

Two occurrences of sospechosos (suspicious people) around my apartment building, Los Cipreses, that were trying to sneak in.  What a blessing that our guards kept us safe!!  Prayers for continued security and protection from these people

Love in the gospel,
Carrie

A Sweet Summer at Home

My wonderful sisters - all back together :-)

It was so wonderful getting to be home and see all of my loved ones this summer!  God is good at allowing me this time to spend with family and friends being refreshed and encouraged by your faith and support.  While it was a busy time, I enjoyed getting to have lunch, coffee, or a 5K running time with so many of my wonderful supporters :-)  Thank you for welcoming me back into your lives and taking time to talk, hear stories, and pray with me.  You are amazing!  My heart was deeply encouraged and blessed!!!!!

Blowing bubbles with my precious nephew, Joshua.

            
 


I was absolutely blown away by the outpouring of love that I received. I was blown away by the continued realness of relationships and friendships. I was blown away at the opportunities I had to share about my overseas world. I was blown away at the interest and questions of what I was doing. I was blown away at the ability to process out loud what I was learning. I was blown away at the advice, encouragement, and prayers I received.

So thank you Chicago friends, Orchard friends, EIU friends, Winston Elementary friends, and my dear family for loving me so. Thank you for taking a chance on me and partnering with me on this journey in Colombia. It's a true privilege to be doing this job knowing I have an army of supporters back at home. You are blessing me greatly and I hope you realize that your love for me is having an eternal impact for the Kingdom. I am honored.   Ministry at El Camino could not happen without you.

Philemon 1:4-7 nails it...
"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with me in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every GOOD thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me GREAT joy and encouragement, because you have refreshed the heart of the saints."

Pastor Collin at the Orchard Evangelical Free Church preached through a wonderful sermon series called Straight From the Heart.  Oh, how I needed to be fed by God's word through this summer!  The series was about checking your spiritual temperature - through depth of praying, proportion of our giving, and the enterprise of our serving.  Check out the series here on the church's website - http://theorchardefc.org/home/sermons-resources/sermons/page/4/.  What a wonderful way to spend my summer reflecting on my heart's temperature toward the Lord Jesus.  Oh, how I would love him even more this next year!  Please check it out!!

Blessing to spend a sunny lunch with my dear friend and sister, Margo

The days leading up to the end of my summer, I started to feel very much a part of life back in Chicago.  It began to be hard as I said good-bye to people.  Oh, how I hate good-byes!!  My heart is certainly still divided.  I questioned how I was feeling and what that meant as far as serving another year away from home.  I can hear Jesus telling me to entrust you all to Him, which brings me a lot of comfort.

Here are some picture from my time at home.  Enjoy!!

Lydia and I at the Hustle for Hungary 5K!

At Randall Oaks Petting Zoo - Joshua is the sheep and I am the pig :-)

Not sure if he wants to fee them...

Pony Ride!!!

Atlantic Ocean!!  Visiting Kendra in Jacksonville, FL.

Taking Dad to TPC Sawgrass - He loves golf!

Visiting Cute Gran in Clearwater, FL

Eating at Island Way with Granny's neighbor, Martha

Happy 4th of July!

Visiting Emily, my roomie from EIU!

Meeting Allyson for the first time while visiting Ashley!

Hanging in the front yard with my precious Casey dog :-)

Choo Choo Restaurant brings your food on the train!!

Last ride before Aunt Carrie returns to Colombia!!

 Prayers/Praises:

God has filled all our positions for this school year!  However, some teachers have been stretched to fill in some holes, so please pray for them as they would be strengthened in the Lord as they serve in extra capacity.

 

ECA is moving forward on their plans to add on a 3rd floor and get rid of the old (and I mean old!) part of the school.  The plans have been approved and they are deciding on when to start construction!!

 

I have been placed in B-2 Spanish class!!! This means that I am growing and learning the language :-)  My desire is to get even better this year so please continue to pray for my Spanish ability.  But, the Lord is good as he is helping me grow in this area!

 

Patience and humility with my new class of students.  It has been a difficult start to the year.  They show a lot of disrespect and they are challenging how I feel about my teaching.  Learning that my identity needs to be found in Him and not how I feel about my teaching.  Please pray that Jesus would help me offer them grace as I daily depend on his grace. 

 

Missing home - Pray that my heart would find rest in Jesus as I am very torn between two places and the people I love.  

 

 

Love you all dearly and deeply and know that I am praying for you often.

Hugs!

Carrie

Graduation 2013!!

Congratulations Class of 2013!

And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable, and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel."  Col 1:21-23

Watching the class of 2013 graduate a few weeks ago, I was overwhelmed by God's goodness to El Camino.  I have gotten to know a few seniors this year.  The few that I have met are wonderful godly men and women.  What they have learned here at El Camino will stay with them long after graduation.  If we have done our mission well, they are ready, prepared and have been TRAINED FOR LIFE.   (ECA's motto).  There were 7 national anthems played at graduation, each representing a different nationality of one of our seniors.  That is amazing!  As they were up there with their caps and gowns on, ready to go out into the world, I kept thinking about my 3rd Graders.  Where would they be in 20 years?  What would their faith be like when they graduate?  Would they be following Jesus?  What things would they remember from their time in my classroom?

Since my 3rd graders are so young, it's hard to see the fruit sometimes of the faith that is growing in their hearts.  Occasionally, I would doubt how important or fruitful my time with them would really be.  The discipleship, mentoring, and service that is done in high school is amazing and there is more fruit to be seen since they are older.  However, God opened my eyes to really see the bigger picture of El Camino during graduation.  The speakers talked about the teachers that had impacted them and how God had worked in their lives since they were young.  How humbling to see the spiritual depth when one senior talked about possible jobs or areas of interests for her classmates and related them all back to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was neat to see the seeds that were planted when they were young were grown, pruned, and harvested as they graduated.  My 3rd Graders will be up there one day (Class of 2022!!) and I would love to be there to watch them graduate and take on the world as Servant Leaders with a passion for Jesus.

 "I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow.  So, neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth."  1 Corinthians 3:6-7
 
These verses really spoke to me about the missionary team at ECA.  They key word is team.  From the day the enter the school in Pre-K until they graduate - we all have the same goal and we all have different roles in accomplishing this goal. Some planted seeds (elementary) and some watered seeds (middle school and high school). Most importantly, the seeds that we plant should be constantly watered in prayer.  Like the verse from 1 Corinthians reminds me, I can trust God with the seeds that are planted because he is the one who causes them to grow.  How wonderfully they do grow when we entrust them to him :-)

Graduate, Julianna, with Allie and I

Our awards ceremony for 3rd Grade was on June 1st.  I handed out Christian Character Trait awards to recognize the work that God is doing in each of my students lives.  At the end of the year, my students reflected on their favorite memories or what God had taught them this year.  Here is a youtube link to see this video that I created.  3rd Grade Memories VIDEO

What a wonderful look back to all Jesus has done in 3rd Grade at El Camino Academy!

Prayers/Praises:
Please pray for our still vacant positions - Director of Academics, High School Principal, High School math, science, computers, and english, Middle School computers and math, and a special education teacher for Elementary

VISAS - please pray for all teachers who are applying for or renewing their VISA's.  My appointment is on July 8th and your prayers would be appreciated that the process would go smoothly and the Lord would provide what we need to return to serve at ECA in the Fall.

Support for year 2 - Please pray that the financial and prayer support will come in for a second year in Bogota.  Trusting that the Lord will once again provide!!  Thank you if you financially or prayerfully supported me during my first year.  You were a blessing and answer to a lot of prayer!  I am excited to see who God brings to support me during my second!

That the seeds that were planted will be watered and grow in the hearts of my students.

My next year's class - that God would put them on my heart and would be preparing me to be their teacher.  They are wonderful class, but with any class comes many challenges - that I am trusting the Lord is preparing me for :-0

Travel back to Bogota on July 26th!

Because they haven't heard,
Carrie

Reflections on 1st year of ministry

Beautiful words by author Tim Keller that have really spoken to me recently: "We are more sinful & flawed than we ever dared to believe and at the same time more loved & accepted in Jesus than we ever dared hope."

I can't believe my first year of ministry is almost complete.  God has taught me a lot this year and I want to stop and reflect on two themes that I have found.  Thank you for all of your prayer support and your faithfulness to all God is doing in me and in my students.  I am so blessed to serve the Lord in this way.  The fruit that was born this year is all because of him!   Here are my thoughts on this past year.

Identity - We all find our identity and worth from something.   As a Christian, I proclaim to find my identity in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for me on the cross.  God has challenged me in this area by continually asking me where I really find my identity.  When my students fail a test, do I doubt my ability to be a teacher?  When my students disobey, do I doubt my ability to be shepherding their hearts?  When I don't feel like running and taking care of my body, do I feel bad about myself?  When I loose my patience with someone, do I doubt that Christ is working in me?   When I want to have alone time and not be social, am I being a horrible friend?

Elyse Fitzpatrick says, "Failing to concentrate on God's love for us isn't a trivial thing.  It will always eventuate in apathetic living.  Only the gospel can so invigorate us that we burn with ardor for him in all that we do." (Because He Loves Me)

While reading this book, God has taught me to look at gospel declarations and obligations.  They are both important.  Gospel declarations say who God is and what he promises for his people.  Gospel obligations are what God calls his people to do.  Sometimes, I focus so much on the gospel obligations that I leave Jesus out of the picture.  I try so hard on my own to live the Christian life by following rules and turning it into a "Do and Don't" list.  I needed to connect the relationship between who I already am (in Christ) with how God has called me to live.

It's about finding my identity not in my teaching, or ability to connect with students or how well I deal with parents.  My students are all such wonderful, little sinners :-)  I say this in a good way - because it frees me from relying on myself and submitting their hearts to Jesus.  He is the only one who can really change their hearts and make them more like him.   When I read a verse like Phil. 2:12-13 which says, " Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." - I can remember that what I am obligated to do (obedience, work out my own own salvation) is only possible by what is declared by the gospel in this verse (that it is God, who works in you, to both will and work for his good pleasure). 

My perspective is slowly changing - and I am praying that God continues to form my DAILY IDENTITY to be fully centered on him :-)

Introversion - A lot of missionaries are expected to be these outgoing personalities willing to serve in EVERY capacity and to go to help at EVERY event or to be willing to share/talk about your faith or evangelize EVERY where you go. While I am willing to do these things, God is really teaching me about my own personality that he gave me and how ministry looks like for me.  I feel pressure (and my sinful nature causes me to compare to others).  Many times, I question whether or not I can do what the Lord is calling me to here in Colombia: balancing teaching, (lesson planning, grading), shepherding students, leading elementary chapel time, time with families, social time with teachers, getting involved in church, time with friends from church, keeping in touch with people back home, blogging to tell all the stories of what God is doing...

I love all of these things, but in order for me to do them all I need some down time to myself to reflect.  God is teaching me even more about what it means to minister with the personality that God gave me.  I enjoy spending time with my students and friends, but I began to feel horrible when I would opt out of social invitations.

Here are a few excerpts from a book I read last year called Introverts in the Church - Finding our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam McHugh  that have been brought back to my mind and heart:

- Introverts are rarely content with surface level relationship and do not generally consider acquaintances to be friends.  We may find small talk to be disagreeable and tiring.  Because we often prefer to spend time in one-on-one interactions, rather than group socializing, our relationships can run deeper.   Introverts treasure the close relationships they have stretched so much to make, and will dedicate themselves to keeping them and nurturing them

- The bonds of intimacy are built in the uncertainty of open-endedness and messiness of our process.  It's in the process that we are the most vulnerable, and if we allow other that we trust to see those parts of us, we find deeper connections and empathy with each other.  We allow others to participate in our decisions, and on the deeper levels, we begin to share our lives with each other and to have our hearts woven together.

- Introverted evangelism looks different.  A quote in the book from Eugene Peterson is:
 The question I put to myself is not "How many people have you spoken to about Christ this week?" but "How many people have I listened to in Christ this week?"


Praying that next year, God would continue to teach me more about my God given personality and that I would fully invest and listen to the people that he wants me to invest in :-0  Praying that God would open my heart to even closer relationships where we can really do ministry together in the years to come.

Prayers/Praises: 
Safe travels back to the Chicago Area on June 4th!!!  For a refreshing summer visit back home - that I would be able to balance work/business items that I need to get accomplished and also have time to spend time with my family and friends who I miss so much!

Support raising for year two - please be praying for who God would send to partner with me in ministry for year two.  If you are already a financial or prayer supporter, thank you!  Please look for a re-commitment card as soon as I arrive home if you are interested in continuing to support the Lord's work here in Bogota.

Possible special education teacher, Geneva, who has expressed interest in coming down next year!  Please pray that God would show her clear direction on where he would like her to be next school year - and I am hoping that it includes joining the elementary team to help with special education at ECA!

For the reconciliation of friendships that is going on between students and even parents/families in my class - Praise God!!

That God would give me a fresh vision for how I can be an even better teacher for next year - creative changes are always good :-0

Pressing on,
Carrie

Journal with Jesus

Journal with Jesus: God has laid on my heart to teach my students about what it means to have time alone with God.  This can hard for some people - and is something that I have had to learn.  When you sit down with your bible, what do you read?  What do you pray about?  What could you write about as you journal and talk with God?  The open-ended time can seem overwhelming.  I decided to start something called, "Journal with Jesus".  After talking with them about these questions, I gave them time to be by themselves with Jesus.  They took their Bibles and writing journals and spent about 20 minutes in silences.  Here are a few quotes from how God spoke to them during this precious time.  Enjoy the pictures as well.  Please don't mind the spelling errors :-0

"My friend told me I was making a trap because I was wining.  My mom told me I need to forgive her and that please don't tell me that again. I need God a lot cause I was mad when my friend told me and now I need God.  So is like God said to my mom to say forgive."

"God has gived me lots of gifts like my family, my dog, my house, my car, my life and more things.  God has gived lots and lots of gifts and the only thing I can say to God is THANKS.  I am really but really happy because all the thinkis he has gived me."

"Jesus is a give to us becuse he was born and grow like a kid and then an adult and be crusified for us!!!!!!  Thank you God."

"God, please forgive me of what I have done to some of my friends.  Please forgive me because I don't what to be a sinner."

"I could offer a prize to Jesus - like a song or something else."

"Dear God, I think that you are totally awesome.  I think that you are great for all of the wonders that you have done.  I feel sorry for what I have to friends and I ask you to change my heart so that I can be nicer to my friends.  I thank you for how you created me and also for my classmates and family.  I pray for the people who need your word and for those you need your blessing and help."

"Dear God, I love that Jesus was born in a manger because it is the perfect fit starie.  I know that I praise God by doing things that he wants me to do."

"God gave me the gift of sports.  So, I can give it back with giving the glory to God threw sports."

"Who am I in Christ?  I am a sinner.  I am a Child of God.  I can give him everything because he gave me everything."

"God, for what I was created for?  Whow I am ?  Why you created the people?  Why are they bad?  Why they need to kill animals?"

"Dear God, I praise you!  You are everything to me and you know it.  I just want to tell you that you are great and you can protect us.  I love you and I pray to tell you help to be a leaky cup and that I can share blessings with everyone.  Help me to be a leader and a good example.  Help me to have integrity and just as I am beautiful in the outside help to be like that on the inside.  I believe in you because you are all mighty.  I pray that right now you show me your word so I understand what I am supossed to do Lord Jesus.  I want to follow you for the rest of my life.  I will try to do my best.  So, I love you in the name I pray."

How Great is God, right??  I am so humbled at the work Jesus is doing this year in 3rd Grade.  Jesus alone is worthy of all the praise :-)

Carrie